


The Promise

by Charlie9646



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: AU, Angst, Child Abuse, Dark, Dark Magic, Dead Doves: do not eat, Death Eaters, Domestic Violence, Emotional Abuse, F/M, Halloween, Horcruxes, Pureblood family dynamics, Threats, Tom Riddle/Voldemort needs his own warning, Toxic Relationship, Violence, Young Tom Riddle, happy ending of sorts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-17
Updated: 2020-10-17
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:55:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,766
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27070837
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Charlie9646/pseuds/Charlie9646
Summary: Eileen Prince could easily see right through Tom Riddle, down to the darkest most horrible parts of his wretched soul.And yet part of her wonders is he capable of love, snapshots of Eileen’s life and how the promises she made shaped it, along with the secrets she kept.
Relationships: Eileen Prince/Tobias Snape, Eileen Prince/Tom Riddle
Comments: 5
Kudos: 12
Collections: 2020 Wicked Witches Of Hogwarts





	The Promise

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to my beta Bruxia Buenoni

The day Tom Riddle came trampling back into Eileen Prince’s life would change hers forever. The man from the first day he met her had been like a storm. Beautiful and deadly, but so wonderful in his own horrible terrible way. In a way that you couldn’t seem to tear your eyes from. No one else could see it. Not Professor Slughorn, who held him up high as if the mere boy was more god than man. Not Headmaster Dippet, who seemed to be under his charms. And not even the other professors. They all seemed unable to see what Eileen saw in him. Tom Riddle the halfblood orphan who seemed to be willing to go as far as he must to get what he wanted. 

They decided that he could do anything. The boy, now man, for the longest time seemed to latch onto that. It seemed to make him  _ think  _ that he was all of those things now, instead of something that Tom could and  _ should _ strive for. 

Eileen heard whispers around the common room from people like Nott who didn’t know if they should follow a halfblood. While others, like Malfoy, insisted it didn’t matter because unlike the rest of them: Riddle was going to make the world a better place. He wanted to push the Muggles back into the muck where they belonged. To remind them of their place. 

It was the same shite her father used to mutter about around the breakfast table. It was what people like the Weasleys disagreed with. 

However, the young men who followed Tom were Slytherins and there was nothing to do about that. Eileen didn’t know if she agreed or disagreed with them, but she knew better than to voice her opinions. 

_ Women should be seen and not heard, that's just the way it was. _ Or so her father used to say.  __

Tom Riddle was a few years older than her and yet Eileen’s father still wanted to make them a match. The man would ramble on about the fact that they were perfect for one another - both from old families. Their families’ scandal wouldn’t matter to someone like Tom. The man would go on, it wasn’t like he would understand their situation when it came to her mother anyway.

Her father was always the Slytherin, plotting away as if life was simply just another game of chess. 

Nothing ever became of it thankfully. Tom was gone, Merlin only knew where. He wasn’t coming back to Hogwarts once again seeking a job. Eileen was seventeen now. Her NEWT scores were going to be passable or at least it seemed to be going that way. It wasn’t that it mattered in the end though, her father planned to marry her off. You didn’t need high level NEWTs for being a wife anyway, now did you?

Eileen wanted nothing to do with that. A part of her wanted nothing to do with the wizarding world at all. The eyes of those who knew what happened to her mother were always watching, tracking her like bloody hawks. Always wondering if she would one day be lost to the madness that claimed her mum. 

Muggles had it easier. Their own ways with their own form of magic sent them across the sea and into the sky. The only thing that mattered in the Muggle world was what you were capable of. Not your name, not your house and surely not the fact that your mum went nutter when you were six. That wasn’t true though Muggles were just as flawed and human as wizards, weren’t they? 

Part of her wanted to run away, to leave this world and this place before she graduated. Unfortunately, Hogwarts was her home. It had always been that to her. It was the first place Eileen had ever felt welcomed. The first place she knew she was among friends. Slytherins, no matter who they were, were welcomed into their house. So long as they were the right blood status, that is. 

Things were changing. Eileen could feel it in the air. Maybe that’s why she was outside sitting on a pile of boulders by the black lake. Staring out across it trying to piece her thoughts and plans together, along with the fact that she was trying to hide from Tom. 

When she was a little first year, she would have done anything for his attention. Now Eileen simply wished the man would leave her alone. There was something different about the man, something rather unsettling that she could feel in her very bones. Tom seemed dangerous, like the vipers her father kept in the tanks in his office.

Tom jogged over to where she sat by the lake. “Eileen, I have been looking for you all day. I wanted to celebrate with you. It’s Halloween after all. We are friends, aren’t we?”

“Yes,” Eileen muttered. “I have been busy studying for my NEWTs and such.”    
  
“Prince, I know that’s a pile of bloody hogwash,” he said. “So, what’s the real reason?” He held onto her arm tightly, his fingers sending an icy chill up her spine. 

“That’s the truth,” Eileen grumbled, pulling her arm from his grasp. “And you don’t care what I think, now do you?” 

“E, you know I have always liked you, don’t you?” Tom teased and then became slightly more serious. “Maybe your father is right and with me being a professor and all I need to consider finding myself a wife.”

“And what’s to say I have an interest in being anyone’s wife?” She asked, her voice slightly shrill.    
  


Tom took her face into his hands, his thumbs brushing against her cheeks. “Because, Ms. Prince, unlike the rest of them, I have no interest in something to simply put on a shelf and take down to show off to my friends. I want a partner. I want an ally. I want an equal. And that’s why I am going to show you something. If you will allow me to do that, that is?”

Against her better judgement Eileen nodded. 

_ He’s dangerous, _ she reminded herself.  _ But, what if Tom really wants what he says? It might be the best situation that she could have going for her. What was the worst that could happen anyway? _

“Let’s go Ms. Prince, I have something to show you in the castle.”

Together Eileen and Tom walked back into the castle. She tried not to think about the future but was utterly failing to do so. The man was handsome in a devilish dangerous way. Far too good looking for someone as plain as she was. People like him didn’t do  _ anything  _ unless there was something in it for them, but that wasn’t really different than anyone else was there?

Pureblood men only saw people in the way that benefitted them, which it seemed Tom had learned in the years that had passed since they had last seen one another.

If he hadn’t, the world would have chewed him up and spit him back out. 

* * *

Together Eileen and Tom stood in the Room of Hidden Things. Items haphazardly scattered around the room with their own long-lost stories. Reaching out she took an old mirror into her hands. In it was a screaming woman, her eyes wild and crazed. The mirror slipped from between Eileen’s fingers shattering into a million shimmering pieces, but at least the screaming was gone.

A soft laugh slipped from Tom’s lips. The bastard was enjoying this. 

“It’s not funny,” Eileen screeched, pushing her heavy black hair out of her face and tying it back. “That thing was imbued embedded with some sort of dark magic.”

“And the last Prince heiress shouldn’t be scared of a little enchanted mirror,” Tom laughed, pulling her close. “I have heard about your father’s collection and what the Ministry thinks about them. Master Burke would kill to get his hands on such  _ valuable  _ items.”

“Is that what this is about?” She asked harshly, “ Tommy, I don’t like being used. Beyond that, my father would never sell them or let me have them. I think the git plans to be buried with them. Despite what little good they will do him in the afterlife.”

Tom walked through the crowded room not bothering to answer her question. He started digging around in the piles of lost things as he spoke, “I could simply charm him to get them if that’s all I wanted. I want something far more valuable than a few enchanted objects… I want something that has to be earned. I want his daughter’s love, but before I can have that I should be honest with her about everything. Don’t you think so, E?”

“Yes,” Eileen said, stepping through the mess to find and be closer to him. Though his statement about simply charming her father sent a shiver through her spine. “I think it would be the better idea if you respect me, that is.”

“And I do. I can show you this, but I need your promise that you will not tell anyone. Swear it?”

“I swear it, Tom, now will you show me?”

Eileen felt it before she saw it. The dark magic poured off the object— coming off of it in waves. The diadem, however, was beautiful, glistening in the small amount of light that streamed through the mostly covered windows. It didn’t change how she felt about it, though. Magic, even the dark kind, had never been something that she was afraid of. This wasn’t blood quills, curios, or even a snuff box that bites people. 

It was something else entirely. Something that was by far more twisted and wretched. 

“What is it, Tom?” Eileen asked. “What did you do to it?” 

“I made it better,” Tom muttered, running his fingers over it, lovingly. She hadn’t seen him like that in all the years that Eileen had known him. “I could help you do it too. So we could live together forever.”

“It’s not bloody possible to do that,” she cried. “People can’t live forever unless…”

“They make a Horcrux,” he said with a smile. “I made three and I plan to make a total of seven when it’s all said and done.”

“My father once mentioned something about them… You have to…”

“Kill someone to make them,” Tom answered the question for her as if he was simply telling her the weather. One that made Eileen’s stomach turn and as if something had died inside of her. The small bit of trust disappeared into the piles of lost things.

“Stay away from me!” Eileen cried, pointing her wand at him. “You have done some bloody crazy things over the years,Tom Riddle, but this takes the bloody cake. You have lost your mind and all of your good sense. I want nothing to do with this and nothing to do with you.” 

“Then go,” he screamed. “Go like all the rest of them do. Like my mother did. Like everyone does. Don’t think of ever coming back.” The wizard became quieter, though just as bone chillingly scary. “Eileen Ava Prince if you ever tell anyone about this I will not hesitate to make you the victim the next time I make a Horcrux.” 

Eileen nodded, and left Tom standing there in the room of lost things; grateful that she had escaped the room with her life. As she walked back to the Slytherin dorm room, Eileen made her decision for her safety and sanity. It was best that she do something that had been on her mind for years. Something which would leave her father never speaking to her again, but that didn’t matter much, did it? 

Her father could have it all. His prize possessions that he valued far more than her. His crumbling manor that the man rarely left now. Thomas Marvlo Riddle Jr. could just have the rest. The wheels turned in Eileen’s mind as she made plans for her life after school. It was like she had finally flung open the windows and the light in. 

Halloween might be a night of darkness to some, but for Eileen it would be a night of new beginnings.

* * *

Eileen had just gotten off of work, setting her bike against the wall in front of the bar. Being a midwife wasn’t easy, but the work was fulfilling to her like nothing else ever had been. Magic wasn’t needed to make her life worth living. Here, in this part of Cokeworth, she was able to make a real difference.

She wiped her face into her handkerchief and tried her best to straighten out her rather limp black hair. It fell heavily around her narrow shoulders. Maybe she should have gone back to the house first, but Eileen wanted a drink far too much after her long day. 

Mrs. Mathew had her son today. A healthy baby boy. She checked on Mrs. Porter who was now two weeks overdue. The Callen’s little girl wasn’t growing as she should, so if that didn’t change in the next week or two Eileen needed to send her to the doctor. That didn’t matter, the day was over and it was time to get her drink. 

Stepping into the old pub, she pulled off her coat and hung it on a hook by the door. It was rather dingy and just plain sticky, but the whisky was good and the company even better. 

Eileen took a seat at the bar and ordered herself a drink. Out of the corner of her eye she saw him. The man was handsome, tall broad shouldered, with shaggy brown hair that fell into his face. A factory worker from the looks of it, but Eileen was no one to judge. Muggle, as were the rest of the people in the bar, but she was pretending to be one so it mattered little all things considered.

“Hello,” said the man. “How is your evening going, Miss?”

“It’s getting better,” Eileen said with a smile. “I am Eileen by the way, and you are?”

“Tobias, but my friends call me Toby,” Tobias grinned at her like the cat who had gotten his cream.

She leaned in closer to him, “Well, Toby, it’s nice to meet you.” 

“Well, would the prettiest girl here like to dance with me?” Tobias asked. “Or are you waiting on someone else?” He stared down at his hands, his cracked from hard labor hands. 

He seemed just as nervous as she did. It charmed Eileen. There was something endearing about him, like the well worn jacket the man wore. The comfortable and safe feeling that the man gave off. 

“I would love to,” Eileen said, pulling the man with her onto the dance floor.

* * *

Long ago someone told Eileen that girls tended to marry their fathers. At the time she had laughed at them. Toby was nothing like the man who raised her. The two men were like night and day. At least that’s what it seemed like at first, but everything comes out in the end.

Tobias turned out to be just as cruel as her father had been and just as hateful of things that he didn’t understand. Not unlike another young man she once had known. The only thing Eileen found worth living for was their son, Severus. Her husband had stripped away everything else from her. Her work, her friends, and her dreams. 

Eileen spent her life gripping the edge of a cliff waiting for something to simply push her off. If it hadn’t been her father who did it or Tobias - would have been Tom. The man hadn’t gotten the job he so desired. Headmaster Dumbledore, unlike former Headmaster Dippet, had seen right through his act. Instead, Tom became some sort of dark monster in his own right.  _ Lord Voldemort, _ they now called him. 

The man had tried to do his very best to take Severus from her, possibly knowing that he was her son. As if it was a way to remind Eileen to keep her mouth shut. In all the years she had not told a single person. Maybe Eileen shouldn’t have done that, but it wasn’t as if she could go back in time and undo it. Either the promise, the secrets, or both. 

Eileen pulled her cloak around herself tighter, walking into Hogwarts. The castle, which had once been her home, was a place that she never would have thought she would return to. Severus asked her never to visit until recently. And now he requested that she not be seen by the students. Severus claimed that it would be safer for his mother if they didn’t.

Eileen nodded along with that; it was easier to just agree to something when her son was dead set on it. It might have been years since she had been here, but Eileen knew the path from her school days. Down the steps she went, thankful the stairs didn’t move on her this time. Only a few lanterns were lit, the soft light bouncing off the stone walls. 

Eileen found her way to her son’s quarters, raising her fist to softly knock on the heavy oak door. Loud footsteps filled her ears and then there was soft cursing. She placed her hand over her mouth trying to hide her soft laughter. Severus might not be a lot of things, but a klutz was one of them, or at least he used to be. 

The door was harshly opened, and her son stood before her. Severus wasn’t the best at taking care of himself, and he hadn’t been for years. The stress of it all hung over him like a dementor that only Merlin knew who had invited in. Maybe she was partly to blame for that, along with Tobias. Hindsight was twenty-twenty in all things, even this. 

“Mum,” Severus said softly and then threw his arms around her. He towered over her and yet he also crumbled like a puppet whose strings had been cut. “You shouldn’t be here, but I am so happy to see you.”

“Let’s get inside, just to be on the safe side shall we?” Eileen asked. Something had to be really wrong for him to act like this. “You can tell me what’s wrong over some coffee or maybe something stronger?”

“Yes, that sounds like a good idea.” 

They walked into his quarters. Everything was clean, solid, but rather unlived in, if he was ready to pack up at a moment's notice. 

_ How long had he lived here?  _ She thought,  _ Going on sixteen years, but, it didn’t matter, not in the end. It did not matter if her son threw a blanket over his armchair or not. What did was the fact that her boy looked dead in his eyes.  _

Severus dug out a bottle of fire whisky and poured them both glasses. He took the armchair by the fire and she took the sofa. 

“Now will you tell me what made you so upset?” Eileen asked, as she lit a cigarette, the smoke danced across the room. “Because you don’t go sending me owls for nothing and you look like someone decided to kick your kneazle.”

“I was never one for kneazles,” Severus muttered, taking a sip from his glass and lighting his pipe. The smoke surrounding him made him look scarier than usual. “It’s not something I should involve you in.” 

“No, you weren’t, you were one for puppies,” she said trying to settle the man. “Always trying to bring them home.”

“And Tobias would never allow such a thing. He would have actually had to pay to feed it and that would take money away from his drinking habit.”

Eileen stood up, walked over to him, and sat on the arm of his chair, “He’s dead now, Sev, died of a heart attack a few months back. I didn’t tell you because I know how you felt about him and how busy you are. Now, let the dead have their mistakes and do not make it your cross to bear. So, if he’s what’s got you all worked up, son, set it down and leave it.”

“Mother,” he said. “It’s not about him. It’s about…”

“Riddle,” she growled. “Of course, and Dumbledore. Must they both have every last stitch tearing you to bloody bits just to get what they want.”

“We know a way to end him, mum,” Severus cried, becoming upset at the whole situation, his long narrow frame shaking with each word that was spoken. “Forever.” 

“It’s something to do with the Horcruxes, isn't it?” Eileen questioned. 

“Possibly,” he muttered, not bothering to look in the eyes. “What do you know about that?”

“Quite a bit, my son,” she said. “Your grandparents had an interest in them many years ago and back long before Tom Riddle called himself all sorts of silly names. He told me about one. 

So, I know at least one for sure. I also have ideas about the theme the monster was going for, and exactly how many planned to make of them. Will you let me help you with this? But, if I do Severus, you must promise me. Swear to me you will not only take care of yourself but leave this place and make a real life for yourself, one you can be proud of.”

“I swear, mother,” Severus said, looking up at her. Brightening in a way he hadn’t before. “I will do my very best to try.” 

That’s all she could ask, wasn’t it? Long ago, Eileen’s father had told her a woman should be seen and not heard, but she had promised herself to never follow that; knowing that being silent would only allow horrible things to happen. But, Eileen had done that. Spent her years keeping her mouth shut on so many wretched things. 

First, never telling her father how she felt. Then, Eileen kept her mouth shut for Tom Riddle. The man who became a creature that was outright impossible to love. Then, finally, for Tobias. Makeup could hide the bruises that marred her body and face, but it could not hide her shame. Even when it came to Severus, her son. The boy, now man, knew the truth. He saw straight through her shields and cover. So, it wasn’t shocking for Eileen to finally break her silence in desperation to keep her son alive. Lies only bred more lies, but that would be no more. 

Now, she would speak. Hopefully everyone would do right and listen. 


End file.
